Your thoughts for AR11

Sounds like a reasonable suggestion to me MBK.

IMO I think the AR should be somewhere it hasn't been before, but as Fizz has already said. It's down to those individuals who want to organise it to put their head above the trenches.

[Lissa]

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

I am just opening my mouth here and letting my belly rumble but why, as the AR is a travelling event, would it be impossible for the GM and the AR to be amalgamated for one year? It's not as if it is then going to take away from either the AR or the GM?

It will totally change the GM if it is amalgamated with the AR. You have never attended a GM, so can't comprehend how much it has it's own identity.

No-one is saying there can't also be a Scottish AR, just keep the two events seperate.

Originally Posted by Lissa

It will totally change the GM if it is amalgamated with the AR. You have never attended a GM, so can't comprehend how much it has it's own identity.

No-one is saying there can't also be a Scottish AR, just keep the two events seperate.

I agree.

We could do both. Plenty of places in Scotland where the AR could be.

Originally Posted by The Guru

I agree.

We could do both. Plenty of places in Scotland where the AR could be.

I get what people are saying, totally. Just think that there is no way we would be able to do both becuase of the travelling distances involved...I dunno. Like I said, I am just throwing ideas about.

There are LOADS of places in Scotland with brilliant roads. Like Speedy Claire suggested, we have some brilliant roads in the south west and Borders....

[dyzio]

Originally Posted by Lissa

It will totally change the GM if it is amalgamated with the AR. You have never attended a GM, so can't comprehend how much it has it's own identity.

.

I know this was the first AR I attended, people here say that these two events have separate characters. I didn't know what to expect, but to be honest I don't see them as beeing completely different.

Ar as a social event: yes, we had plenty of that, but I also saw 100 bikes (about 2/3 of the attendees) doing a really nice 150 mile rideout.
And there was plenty of socialising going on at the GM's as well.

Having said that, I like the two being separate events: means there are two crackin' rideouts to go to

[yorkie_chris]

Lissa, I fully agree.

MBK, it's not a bad idea but they're two different things. I enjoy the GM's that much that I wouldn't want the emphasis to shift to an AR type event.

To put it in simple terms the AR is about getting drunk with you bunch of idiots, the GM is about the roads with a few pints as a bonus.


I am also not in favour of Derbyshire, I probably wouldn't do a Derby rideout* as the roads there are an exercise in frustration... good roads just with a million speed cameras, DWLs and coppers. Add 100+ bikes and the usual markers riding like c**ts and you've got, IMO, a recipe for disaster.
*Though I would still attend the festivities and probably ride back to Yorkshire for a bimble during the Saturday.

Oban is nice

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

I am also not in favour of Derbyshire, I probably wouldn't do a Derby rideout* as the roads there are an exercise in frustration... good roads just with a million speed cameras, DWLs and coppers. Add 100+ bikes and the usual markers riding like c**ts and you've got, IMO, a recipe for disaster.
*Though I would still attend the festivities and probably ride back to Yorkshire for a bimble during the Saturday.

SO eloquently written, but I was just pretty much about to write the same thing!

I don't mind riding down Derbyshire on me tod, I like the place for a bimble(not much choice with heliflopters, unmarked cars, cameras, and a nice number of imposed 50mph limits) but for an AR, nah fankyou, those on the rideout would get hacked off after a 1/2 mile!

Originally Posted by Lissa

It will totally change the GM if it is amalgamated with the AR. You have never attended a GM, so can't comprehend how much it has it's own identity.

No-one is saying there can't also be a Scottish AR, just keep the two events seperate.

Hurrah, I completely agree.

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

I get what people are saying, totally. Just think that there is no way we would be able to do both becuase of the travelling distances involved...I dunno. Like I said, I am just throwing ideas about.

There are LOADS of places in Scotland with brilliant roads. Like Speedy Claire suggested, we have some brilliant roads in the south west and Borders....

It would be a complete shame to see what are two excellent weekends amalgamated into a single event, the thing about people not being able to make both events is just daft imo. (As an aside, I live in Germany and made both events).

The problem is, the GM is more of a riders event with a decent amount of socialising, the AR is almost a purely socialising event with a "token" rideout. Both events are excellent and it would be a damn shame to loose either one of them. I fully support having an AR in Scotland as a separate event but please for the love of all that is holy do not merge them into a single ride because you will loose the soul of both. Besides, I quite like having two large and very good rideouts to look forward to. Perhaps it would be worth considering the people that organise these events too.... the people that organise the GM are the very same people that would end up needing to organise the AR, if people feel they have the spare time to organise both then all power to them.

You have a superb annual rideout in Scotland already, it is called the GM, renaming it to 'AR2011' and then cancelling the real AR does not help, it merely reduces the amount of events that people have to look forward to.

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by ravingdavis

Perhaps it would be worth considering the people that organise these events too.... the people that organise the GM are the very same people that would end up needing to organise the AR, if people feel they have the spare time to organise both then all power to them.
.

+1
This is a most valid point when deciding on putting an AR in Scotland. Organising one event is a huge burden to undertake, to organise two....would be way too much for those usually involved in the GM. Really would be expecting way too much of them IMHO.
They end up putting a lot of spare time into the organising, on top of their very busy working lives.